


Uranium Fever

by zeroisapi



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: I wrote this instead of doing my summer reading, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2020-04-12 00:02:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19120435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeroisapi/pseuds/zeroisapi
Summary: With the Institute in flames, Nate and Preston work hard to rebuild the Castle and strengthen the Commonwealth. After expressing some suggestions that don't settle well with other Minutemen and Commonwealth citizens, Nate starts keeping to himself and growing apart from others and from Preston. Concerned, Preston takes over some of Nate's neglected duties and employs the help of an ex-Institute doctor.





	1. General Nate Encourages Ex-Institute Scientists to join Commonwealth Communities

Preston, going along with his usual duties, patrolled the top perimeter of the Castle. Those assigned up top were in their correct positions too, three per station as Nate ordered. In the weeks since he and Nate spread their reach across the Commonwealth to even the furthest settlements, many had signed up to join and fight alongside them. It made Preston happy to be a part of something that people believed in again. He felt like he wasn’t alone anymore, he wouldn’t be for a long time. If the steady trickle of young men and women kept coming from around the Commonwealth, the Minutemen would get stronger. Maybe then the Commonwealth would be a better place to live; no ferals, no Super Mutants, and a lot fewer raider gangs. But there would always be gangs, he knew that. There have been gangs of bad people around since even before Nate was alive and breathing - the first time that is.

Patrolling the top perimeter was Preston’s favorite thing to do when he was at the Castle. He got a great view of everything that went on. He was able to make sure the new recruits were manning their stations properly. He was able to see out to sea, a great site today. It was sunny out, warm too. The water seemed to sparkle in the same way Nate talked about it from his pre-war stories. However, Nate seemed disappointed and unimpressed at all of the sites he saw with Preston. Preston couldn’t blame him though, Boston was his hometown and it had “gone to hell since the bombs dropped” as Nate so kindly put it. Preston didn’t have any complaints about how the ocean looked today though. Maybe because he wasn’t around before the world got ugly or maybe because he was trying to be optimistic. Either way, he liked the way it sparkled.

Preston was also able to watch Nate work on fixing the giant hole in the wall with other soldiers. In the warmth of the sun, he had stripped from his uniform and combat armor and went with just jeans and a tee-shirt. It was a good look on him, his arms were nicely displayed and the jeans hugged his ass in just a way that kept Preston watching him bend over to pick up a large stone for just a moment too long. Nate hefted the stone out of the pile of rubble and walked it over to the row him and the others had started that morning. He looked up and saw Preston watching him. He waved. Preston smiled, waved back, and returned to his patrol.

It seemed like he was staying at the Castle a lot more since Nate had taken down the Institute and eradicated the Brotherhood of Steel. With the growing number of members they had, not every problem they had gotten a report of meant that Nate had to up and leave whatever he was doing to go deal with it. Nate had soldiers stationed around the Commonwealth to ensure speedy protection for the people. Nate still helped out when they were traveling. Preston appreciated that about him, despite having all this power Nate was still as humble as the day he met him. But his humility didn’t earn him respect from the rest of the Minutemen, it was his assertive voice, kind heart, and “roll up your sleeves and get dirty” attitude that got him the respect of the rest of the Minutemen.

Piper’s article on him a few months back had painted him as a wide-eyed vault dweller who didn’t know a radroach from a bloatfly. Granted, it did take him a few weeks to learn what every new mutated creature and plant was. But he wasn’t wide-eyed, he was a pre-war, well, war hero. He was no stranger to combat. This man had fended off enemies single-handed, then dragged his injured friend five miles through the snow back to base. He had tracked down a soldier MIA, only to find out he had been stranded with a broken radio and a broken leg. He had probably done more too and just hadn’t told Preston. But there was no telling, he only told people what he wanted and did a good job at avoiding what he didn’t want to share. Whether or not there were more unshared stories, Nate would surely tell him in his own time, if at all. He once admitted to Preston that he didn’t even tell Nora much about his time in the military at all.

Despite the bad reputation he got from her article, Nate actually promoted Piper’s papers. He believed in the press and said it was the best way for people to stay informed - as well as to promote literacy. Thanks to Nate, Publick Occurrences wasn’t exclusive to Diamond City anymore. Weekly papers were distributed around the Commonwealth through caravans and traveling merchants. Piper and her little sister were thriving since more people were supporting her paper. And with Nate’s support and good word, more people took her seriously. She expanded her paper to include bits of history, mostly things she finds in old books. Recently she released an article comparing the Minutemen to another militia group from early America with the same name.

Preston didn’t know how accurate her history lessons were, but she was doing a great job and she was trying so she got points for giving effort. He can’t say that for some of the recruits around here. Thankfully none of the lazy rookies were under his thumb, but god they were annoying. There was just a group of five the refused to do anything up to standards. They slacked off during morning workouts, their station was consistently underperforming, and they constantly were mouthing off. Nate didn’t take it at all. During PT one morning, he had come to tell Preston something important, then said a few encouraging words to the rookies. One of them had something smart to say to him and piped up from the back.

“Say it again,” Nate had dared them.

“Nah,” they shook their head, “It’s not funny if I gotta say it again.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion, that was an order.”

They huffed and rolled their eyes, “Why’d we put a popsicle in charge?”

“Give me 20, right now, for your friends to see,” Nate crossed his arms.

“What? No thanks.”

“Make it 50, then.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Kid, I’m in charge, now do 100 before I make it any worse,” he said, “And don’t doubt that I will. If you think I’m going hard on you, you should have joined the U.S. Army when I was drafted. I sneezed during a uniform inspection and did 250.”

Nate didn’t take disrespect from recruits well. He was in charge and he was ready to prove it. Most senior officers showed him due respect and followed through on his orders. Current standing orders were to not fire upon non-hostile former Institute and Brotherhood members. So far, there had been several sightings of friendly members from both parties. Only a handful of instances of former members attacking stationed soldiers around their territory. They were all Brotherhood. Logically, Preston wasn’t surprised. The Brotherhood was a faction of soldiers and the Institute of scientists. However, he was suspicious that at least one of these instances were started by them and not the Brotherhood.

Another unpopular opinion of Nate's - though, just an encouragement rather than an order - was that settlements should open their gates to friendly Institute scientists that were willing to further the advancement of the Commonwealth. Preston had already gotten words that a few scientists from different branches of the Institute had joined a few settlements. Whereas, many more had been turned away. Nate was disappointed that people weren’t willing to give a second chance to those looking for one.

Preston wasn’t so surprised. He had grown up in the post-war Commonwealth, learning to always look over his shoulder and be wary of the Institute. He tried to tell Nate that it wasn’t going to be easy to integrate these scientists into a society that learned to fear them. For almost two hundred years, the Institute had terrorized and experimented on the people of the Commonwealth. Asking for a second chance from people that have heard people-snatching stories since birth is asking a lot. He wasn’t sure how pre-war people were, but he knew that nowadays people weren’t so forgiving as Nate anticipated.

Nevertheless, Preston would honor Nate’s wish and encourage the same. He too believed that having these scientists in their communities could be beneficial. They wouldn’t be able to do much harm spread so thin among the Commonwealth. Having one or two in one place would certainly keep their morals and intent in check. Sure, it would take a while for everyone to sleep soundly and make positive, trusting relationships with these scientists. It was worth it in the long run.

“Lieutenant Garvey?” a rookie called from the entrance post.

He walked over to their station. He didn’t rush, since they didn’t seem too nervous or have their weapon drawn, but he didn’t mosey either.

“What’s the problem, Private?” he asked.

“There’s a girl walking over here,” the kid said. She pointed to a woman in an Institute Uniform walking towards the Castle, “I can’t see what she’s holding.”

The Private aimed his gun at the scientist. He was nervous, too nervous for this sort of interaction. She didn’t seem hostile and if they could establish a friendly rapport with her maybe the rest of the Commonwealth would follow in their example. That’s what they needed in order to nail down Nate’s authority and to unify Boston. Preston put a hand on the Private’s gun.

“Hold your fire,” he said. He looked at him, “Safety on. I’m going to go talk to her, she looks peaceful.”

The Private lowered his gun as Preston left. Preston used the scaffolding on the side of the building to get down to the ground. Nate had it put up while fixing the first hole in the fort and had it kept up while the second hole was being fixed. He’d been productive in the past months; he had begun reconstruction on the fort, established the basic trade routes among settlements, set out loose territory lines, formed small local governments in the settlements, and above all ended the Institute. There was still a lot to do - and Preston did as much as he could to help out Nate with the tough stuff. Preston oversaw training, security, and stationing.

The scientist saw him walking towards her and smiled. She held up a paper. It was Piper’s last edition of the Publick Occurrences about Nate encouraging the community to give scientists a second time. Preston stopped a few feet from her, in case anything undesirable went down. He doubted anything would happen, but he couldn’t be for sure.

“Afternoon, ma’am,” he nodded to her.

“Are you General Nate?” She asked, “I have a question.”

“No ma’am, I’m Lieutenant Garvey,” he said, “but I can answer any questions you have - the General is elbow deep in manual labor right now.”

“Okay - is there any need for a doctor here? I’m not too familiar with how skilled surface dwell- excuse me, _people_ are up here,” she said. She put the paper under her arm, “Sorry. Let me introduce myself. My name is Doctor Brooke Moore. I was in the BioScience division of the Institute. I focused mainly on human biology and how it has adapted to mutating pathogens over the past 200 years. I was able to save some medicines and research before I fled the Institute. I think I’d be able to continue producing medicine and furthering my research - in the name of the Minutemen.”

“You’re asking to be the doctor on base?” Preston asked.

“Yes,” she nodded.

“I’d love to get to know you some more,” he said, “I’m sure I can find somewhere for you to work - even if it isn’t here. Why don’t you come inside with me?”

“Okay.” She smiled.

Preston led her to the first checkpoint to get in. Nate had implemented some old-war security measures - pat downs, bag checks, and weapon check-ins. Non-combatants weren’t allowed to bring any weapons on the premise: nuclear, plasma, traditional, melee, or whatever could be used to do harm. Most people submitted to the terms, but some didn’t agree with them so they were turned away. It was as simple as that. Doctor Moore submitted to the search and gave up her Institute-grade pistol. She removed her lab-coat and her satchel to be checked while she was pat down. Preston stood aside and waited for the team to finish.

“Clear to enter,” one of the guards said, “Your gun will be here for pick-up when you leave.”

Preston took her in the courtyard, it was almost full of rows of loose stones now. Nate was taking a break leaning on a shady spot along the wall. He had sweat completely through his shirt and cuffed the bottom of his jeans to let his legs breath. He took a long sip from his water bottle and then poured some over his dark black hair. Nate looked over to Preston. He grinned and pushed his hair back.

“So, is this all the manual labor the General’s busy with right now?” Doctor Moore asked sidestepping a stone.

Preston tore his eyes from Nate’s chest and nodded.

“Yes, just a few weeks ago I thought this place was in a state of disrepair but with the General’s planning, we’ve been already repaired one of the holes and turn it into the security checkpoint we came through.”

“Looks like some bad damage. What happened?”

“A giant mirelurk came out of the ocean several years ago,” he gestured to the big hole, “Busted through that wall and the other one and ran us out of here.”

“And now you’re back here?”

“It was my idea to come back here. The Minutemen were stronger when we had this as our headquarters. I convinced General Nate to help me clear this place out and reclaim it as our own. When we got here, it was a nest. It took weeks to scrub all the muck and crust off of the walls and floors.”

Doctor Moore scrunched her nose up.

“That sounds nasty.”

“Trust me, it was. But we had plenty of help. No one here is spared from cleaning duty. I do my share, rookies do their share, even the General will get on his hands and knees to put some elbow grease into it,” Preston said. He turned to her, “If you work here, you’ll be a Minuteman. You’ll have your medical duties, but you’ll be expected to do clean-up duties too. And manual labor to an extent.”

She nodded.

“Any other expectations?”

“We expect you to fight with us if there is an attack here. There’s a low chance of us relocating you, but we do have people that don’t have access to medical help and need knowledge on basic first aid. The General has been trying to put something together in that sense, I’ll refer him to you about it. Hmm, what else?” Preston’s eyes fell back onto Nate. “Oh, every morning the soldiers do physical training. It’s only required for soldiers - as opposed to our radio technician, um, and our cook. But, I would recommend attending a few times a week. It’s good to stay combat-ready, especially when you don’t know if someone’s going to attack.”

Doctor Moore nodded, “I agree. Thank you.”

Nate had kept his eye on the two of them through the whole conversation. Mostly on Preston. Preston smiled and waved to him. Nate waved back.

“Oh, you know him?” Doctor Moore asked.

“Do you?” Preston asked.

She nodded, “I met him once while I was with the Institute. He came by and asked me what my division did. I didn’t realize he was a part of the Minutemen. Real nice man.”

“He is.”

“Did you know he’s pre-war?” she asked, “He told me he was frozen for 200 years. Incredible! Most people don’t survive very long - but he went 200 years! And his son almost 150! Isn’t that amazing? And to think, he was the father to the head of the Institute.”

Preston raised his eyebrows - that was something Nate had neglected to share with Preston, he could understand why. He said, “I don’t think you should go around repeating that.”

“Oh,” Doctor Moore frowned.

“You have to remember, the Institute was not at all popular up here,” Preston said, “It took a lot for the General to get the Commonwealth to accept giving you guys a second chance. If it got out that his son ran the Institute… a lot of people would lose faith and trust in him.”

“No, I understand why,” she said, “I’m still getting used to us being the bad guys.”

“Us?”

“I mean… I mean the Institute - please forgive me.”

Preston nodded, “It’s okay. Just a slip-up.”

She nodded quickly in agreement. She was tense - nervous to be in the wasteland. Preston could tell, it was very similar to how Nate acted when they went to Sanctuary after fleeing Concord. Doctor Moore crossed her arms and picked at the Institute logo on her chest. She might also not like wearing the uniform in the Minutemen headquarters.

“If you follow me, we can get you a uniform that fits,” Preston offered, “We don’t have any lab coats, but I’m sure the General would be happy to track one down for you.”

“I’d really appreciate that, actually.”

Preston took Doctor Moore to the supply room.

“Hello, Lieutenant,” the quartermaster greeted, “Need anything?”

“I need a standard uniform for Doctor Moore. She’s just joined us.”

“That’s great to hear! What size do you wear Doctor Moore?”

“Um, a medium.”

The quartermaster walked back to the uniforms and rifled through the sizes. He came back with a set.

“There’s a closet to change in over there,” he pointed, “When you’re done you can turn over your old uniform and we’ll find a way to repurpose it.”

Doctor Moore took the uniform and changed in the closet. She came out in the standard pants, button up shirt, and jacket. The quartermaster set a few pairs of boots on the counter.

“Take your pick,” he said.

She tried on the boots and picked her best fit.

After everything was done there, Preston took Doctor Moore too retrieve her gun and get a bed and locker in the barracks. She put her few collected belongings in the locker.

“Once your lab space is set up you’ll have some more security for your things,” Preston said, “but most people leave their lockers unlocked anyways - there’s a good sense of community around here. I wouldn’t judge you if you did keep it locked considering you have medicine and research in there. Anyways - if you have any questions I’ll be happy to answer them - as would any other ranking officer.”

“Um, about my gun,” she said, “Since it was made by… the Institute, is that going to be a problem?”

“Absolutely not. You’re permitted one personal weapon here, and if you want a Minuteman issued gun and the perk of free rationed ammo - you can jump through a few hoops to get those too.”

“What would that require?”

“Just a short gun course and registration. If you’re interested, talk to Sergeant Levi in the armory, he oversees everything that comes to weapons and ammo.”

“Thanks,” Doctor Moore grinned, “I’ll see you around, Lieutenant.”

“Bye, Doctor.”

Preston left the barracks and went outside. It had cooled down some with the sun setting. He had spent a much longer time with Doctor Moore than he realized and completely neglected his security duty. He’d have to let Nate know, but given the circumstances, he can imagine that Nate’s going to let it slide. The circumstances being that the Castle was in need of a doctor and that Nate was in love with Preston. Preston thought for a moment. Nate was probably back in their room, he wasn’t working on the hole in the wall - no one was. The day shift was over, those on night duty were coming out and getting ready. Preston got dinner and went back to their room.

Nate’s sweaty clothes were in a pile in a corner. Preston saw him in the next room over - the bathroom - soaking in a bath. He took his overcoat and scarf off and hung them up in the wardrobe. He walked into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Nate peaked an eye open and grinned at him.

“How long have you been here?”

“Only a few minutes,” he said, “I just finished my day.”

“Oh, following that woman around? Who was she?”

“Her name is Doctor Moore,” Preston said, “She worked in the BioScience division of the Institute and just joined us to be a doctor.”

“That’s great,” Nate said, “How willing would she be to go help some of the settlements that don’t have doctors or access to first aid?”

Preston laughed, “I told her that would be your first thought. I’ll introduce you two tomorrow.”

Nate laid back in the tub and closed his eyes. Preston rinsed his mouth out, then his face. He sidestepped to the tub and stood over Nate. His arms were propped up on the side of the tub, his legs were relaxed and laid out, and his head was laid back exposing his neck to Preston. Preston ran his fingers gently up Nate’s neck. He looked up at Preston and smirked.

Preston leaned down and slowly kissed Nate. He ran his fingers up to the nape of Nate’s neck and twisted his fingers through his dark hair. He kissed back lazily - he was already tired and the heat of the water only relaxed him more. He mumbled against Preston’s lips. Preston pulled back, keeping his hand on the back of Nate’s head.

“What?”

“I’m too tired, I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay, babe,” Preston said, “Why don’t you finish up in here and come to bed?”

Nate nodded.

Preston left the bathroom and stripped down to his boxers. He hung up his clothes and got into bed. Shortly after, Nate came trudging to bed - hair still damp and flecks of water still hugging his chest. He fell into bed and rolled over to Preston. His eyelids drooped over his bright blue eyes he said goodnight and fell asleep. Preston stayed awake for a few more minutes to hold Nate before sleeping. He ran his thumb over his back and kissed his forehead. Nate grinned in his sleep. That was what made the little moments matter to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3.19.20 edit: minor edits in sentence structure


	2. Colonel Garvey Makes Speech in Diamond City Advocating Enlistment and Contributing to a Better Future

 

The last time Preston had been to the green jewel, he had been with Nate. He had a place in the hub of the field; he had saved up until he could buy it for himself. Then, he took a few weeks off from leading the Minutemen to make it clean and homey. Preston remembered how dark and dingy it was that first time he stepped in. He could barely see Nate’s face. Now, as he sat in the living room with Piper while she went over his speech notes, he could enjoy the warm lighting and the smell of dried flowers. In the lack of candles, Nate had a knack of making sour places smell nice - it was a trick he claimed his late wife made a hobby of during her life. Preston couldn’t remember what fancy word Nate had called it.

Piper was a good friend of Nate’s, they had hit it off immediately when Piper roped him into spinning a lie so they could both get into Diamond City. And, before he had come out, Preston thought they were involved with each other. But, thankfully, he was wrong. He grew to enjoy Piper. Despite her meddling in all things dirty, personal, and classified, she cared deeply for her friends. Anytime she heard of Nate or him being in Diamond City, she would march down to Nate’s house, knock on the door, and ask why they didn’t stop to say hi to her on the way in.

“You have to pass my place to get to yours!” she says every time.

“We got in late, we didn’t want to wake up Nat.” or “We did stop by, you weren’t there.” they would offer in return.

This time, however, was one of the few times that Piper was in and awake upon arrival. She was also anticipating them showing up. But, when Preston showed without Nate, her face fell for a moment before she smiled again. She asked him where Nate was and he told her that Nate was sick and not well enough to travel. Which is true. Nate hadn’t been feeling well since he had started rebuilding the Castle. At first, they thought he just had heat exhaustion, but after three days of being sick, Nate claimed he must have come down with a cold and just needed to get some rest before working again.

So, in the few hours they had left before the scheduled speech, Piper and Preston were reviewing what Nate had written and were rewriting it to fit Preston’s narrative. It wouldn’t be a long speech. Short enough to keep their attention but long enough to be inspiring; Piper specialized in keeping attention. She also knew more about grammar and sounding educated than most people out in the Commonwealth. Nate, privately, admitted she was better spoken than he was; when he was in school his composition grades weren’t amazing. He told Preston that his grades were just good enough to keep him on the team. But Preston wasn’t exactly sure how that worked.

Nate likes to talk about the world that was. Preston thought that it was helping him come to terms with what happened. He had no complaints. He would stay up late at night to listen to Nate talk himself in circles about the world he grew up in. It was amazing to hear, really. Not many ghouls liked to talk about the Old World with anyone anymore and that included Nate who was absent during the time everyone else in the world came to understand what was going on. Nate didn’t want to talk to other people about it anyway. He got defensive when people asked him about what his life was like before. He’d get mad and tell soldiers and officers to get back to work. He’d get nervous and change the subject when citizens brought it up. So Preston understood not to bring it up. He could ask questions if Nate brought it up naturally, though. But even then, he didn’t stray too far off-topic from what Nate was talking about.

He tried not to ask about several things. He stopped asking about the political climate at the time of the Great War - something Nate always left at “Well, I moved Nora out of the city when she was pregnant because I wanted her and our kid to be safe.” He didn’t bring up the time he served in the Army - he wasn’t exactly sure, but Nate did mention he bonded closely with another man while they were in Alaska. And he definitely avoided the subject of Nate’s marriage to a woman. Preston didn’t understand when Nate tried to explain that yes, he did love Nora with all of his heart but he wasn’t…. He wasn’t _in_ love with her. They were childhood best-friends turned “high-school sweethearts”. But they didn’t want to date and they didn’t want to get married. Their parents pressured them into the relationship and pressured them to have a kid. Preston didn’t understand why he would go through all of that if he knew he didn’t like women and he wanted to be with men. Why wouldn’t he just tell his parents that he wasn’t attracted to Nora? Nate got choked up when he asked, shook his head, and changed the subject.

“I joined the Minutemen because I believe they could be the good in the world that I wanted to see more of,” Preston answered Piper’s question, “I asked General Nate’s help to rebuild it because I wasn’t going to give up on the organization just because it was a little broken. We should consider the same for the Commonwealth. It's hard to get things done alone, but a little help can go a long way. ”

Piper nodded. She wrote down the new version of the speech for Preston. She had a funny way of focusing. She scrunched her nose up like she smelled something foul, she leaned over her notes, and she chewed on her lip. She looked back up - gleeful curiosity on her face.

“Why do you think people should join the Minutemen?”

Preston’s answer came quickly but it was one that he and Nate had turned over a dozen times. They wanted the best answer. One that would strike inspiration in the hearts of those who hoped for a greater Commonwealth. One that was simple enough for people to understand, yet complex enough to remember. One that would stick with someone and pass through their mind when they need help. Preston and Nate wanted people to call upon the Minutemen for support, they wanted people to rely on them for help, they wanted people to trust them in this terrifying “every-one-for-them-self” world.

“Our goal is simple,” Preston said, “We, the Minutemen, wish to raise the Commonwealth back to its former glory and to aid those who need or want it along the way. Whether it be a simple farmer, a troubled loner, or someone looking for a second chance.”

Piper was able to pull together a capable speech - well more than capable, it was great. Preston was well received and had a few Diamond City citizens come up to ask him questions about joining or if they couldn’t join, a way they could contribute. He talked for as long as people stayed after his speech. Having people interested in making the Commonwealth was the biggest weight off of Preston’s shoulders. He struggled to protect the Quincy survivors almost completely alone. When Nate came along, Preston thought he was four seconds from turning on them after clearing the raiders and taking down the Deathclaw. Honestly, it took him a bit to even trust Nate enough to make him the General. He was standoffish and aggressive to most people for nearly a month and a half before he calmed down. It put off Preston from wanting anything to do with him, but once he found out what Nate had been going through, he regret not being there for him and trying to get him to open up. But that was neither here nor there, Preston is there for Nate now and Nate knows that.

Piper waited for Preston to finish speaking with everyone before asking him to get dinner with her. They ate at the noodle stand with her younger sister, Nat. Mostly, they talked to Nat about school and how things were faring for her with the other kids. 

Preston ordered a NukaCola and shook it up before he opened it. It was something that he picked up from Nate - who had spat out his first sip of NukaCola upon Preston presenting him with a bottle. From then on, he shook them up “for the bubbles”.

“What are you doing?” Nat asked.

Preston took a sip of the fizzy soda and passed it to Nat.

“I made it bubbly again,” he explained, “Back when these were made before the war, they had bubbles in them and over time the bubbles went away. But when you shake it up, they come back and it’s like you’re drinking it how it was supposed to be drunk.”

She took a sip, scrunched her face up, and passed it back to him.

“Don’t like it?”

“No.”

Preston laughed, “I guess it’s not for everyone.”

When all was said and done, Preston retired to the house he and Nate saved up for and bought together a few months ago. It was Nate’s idea; he still held onto bits and pieces of the Pre-War “American Dream”. A part of that, according to Nate, was to have a house with his “sweetheart”. At the time, Preston was flustered that Nate considered him as such, but now he thought it was actually quite endearing. He liked being Nate’s special someone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was shorter but I've been working hard on it when I've had time. I just started college and things have been hard and heavy on me so spare time + brainpower is few and far between. But I hope this was as enjoyable as the last chapter.


	3. Minutemen Begin Training at Headquarters

Twenty-one minutemen were gathered in the courtyard of the Castle at sunrise. Twenty new recruits and Preston. Doctor Moore was in the back row of the block, Preston could tell that it was her first or one of her first times exercising. Though, she couldn’t be blamed. He imagined that living underground only doing research for a few decades wouldn’t warrant the need to do much exercise. And while her position didn’t come with mandatory physical training, Preston appreciated her willingness to dedicate the beginning of her day to unite herself with the rest of the new recruits.

Physical training was split into four groups. Every other day one of the four groups would exercise with Preston at sunrise and with Nate an hour and a half later. The other two groups would exercise the next day in the same order, and so on. New recruits were always in the early morning groups. More experienced soldiers were allowed more sleep and given the later PT time.

Nate modeled the workouts after his time in the Pre-War Army. They started with warm-up stretches. Then did jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups, and planks. Followed by a two-mile jog and finished with cool-down stretches. 

Typically, Nate would be walking into the court-yard by the time Preston returned from the job. However, this morning, he didn’t come out. Not even after the second group was in formation and ready to begin. So, Preston led the second group in a workout. After another hour and a half, Nate had still not shown. Preston had to start patrol in thirty minutes, after breakfast, but it could wait. Nate was his commanding officer and he wasn’t going to get mad at his boyfriend for checking in on him. If anything, Preston could say a few words to him about skipping out morning PT, but he wasn’t going to. He knew Nate wouldn’t skip it without a good reason. He was dedicated to the Minutemen and had treated it with a seriousness Preston hadn’t seen in many others.

Preston was able to put things together as soon as he entered his and Nate’s room. The bed was unmade, it was completely out of character for Nate to leave a bed unmade. Even before they lived here, Nate made sure his bed was tightly made. The door to the bathroom was left open a few inches, Preston could hear the wretching from inside. He went in swiftly and knelt beside Nate. He rubbed his back as he coughed over the toilet.

“Have you been here the entire time?” Preston asked.

Nate nodded and looked up at Preston. He ran his hands over his red, puffy eyes. Nate sniffled and nodded again.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.”

His voice wavered raw. His blue eyes were still wet. Preston could make out the stains on his cheeks left by tears. He reached up and flushed the toilet, then wiped Nate’s eyes.

“Let’s get you back into bed, sweetheart.”

“No, I’m…” Nate paused, holding his hand over his mouth, “I have a meeting today, with Mayor Hancock.”

“He can postpone the interview.”

Nate shook his head, “No. I don’t want to do that. That’s unprofessional. It’s important.”

Preston helped Nate up.

“It can wait one day. He’ll understand.”

Hancock had known Nate longer than Preston had. Technically. Preston met Nate when he was fresh out of the vault. Hancock met Nate not long after when Nate was in his right mind and had finally processed what was going on. For some time, Hancock and Nate even traveled together before Nate started making frequent stops in Sanctuary.

He had always helped around the settlement; whether it was harvesting crops, building a house, or giving advice to the settlers that volunteered to be security. His only request was that one of the preserved houses remained vacated and the Mr. Handy model that stayed around be either left alone or treated properly. Preston later found out it was his Pre-War home. He had seen the inside once, only once. Nate had refurbished the house to look as it had before the world ended. He didn’t like people going in, not even Preston. The one time Preston had walked in to check on Nate, he had calmly asked him to leave and promised he’d catch up with him before sundown.

Hancock, for a while, knew much more about Nate than Preston did. He didn’t help out with the labor that Nate did in Sanctuary when they visited, but he kept Nate company. He and Nate had nearly non-stop conversation. Only stopping when someone approached. Hancock might have known Nate more than Nate did, at least once. He definitely gave off the impression that he knew more than he was going to let you know.

More than once did Hancock catch Preston watching him and Nate. Well, he was watching Nate, but Hancock was there too. The first time Hancock caught him, he glared at Preston before he was able to act like he was just looking around. He was pretty sure that Hancock eventually caught on that Preston had a thing for Nate. Eventually, Hancock and Nate split paths, not before Nate asked Preston if he would be willing to travel with him around the Commonwealth to help out other settlements.

“Really, Preston,” Nate spoke slowly but strongly, “I want to meet with Hancock today.”

“And you need to rest,” Preston said. He guided Nate back to the bedroom. He put up almost no fight, dragging his feet as they passed through the door.

Preston got Nate back into bed.

“I’ll send a messenger to Hancock to let him know that the meeting needs to be postponed and I’ll have Doctor Moore come in to check on you.”

“No. That’s an order, Lieutenant.”

“You’re in no position to be giving orders, General.”

“I mean it.”

“I’m still going to. I’m not doing this as your subordinate, I’m doing this as your boyfriend.”

Preston guided Nate down onto the bed and pulled the covers over him.

“I don’t want Doctor Moore. I’m okay with postponing the meeting, but I don’t need to see a doctor.”

“How long have you been throwing up?”

“Preston, please.”

“Nate.”

He pushed himself down into the pillow.

“Just let me lay in bed today, okay? Please,” Nate begged. He grabbed Preston’s hand and looking into his eyes.

He knew that Preston couldn’t handle it when Nate made that face.

“Okay. You can lay in bed today, but if you still feel this bad tomorrow I’m getting Doctor Moore and you won’t see Hancock.”

Preston hated to see the defeat and disappointment on Nate’s face. But, he knew that this was what was best for him. He wanted Nate to feel better and he wanted Nate to be happy. Sometimes he just couldn’t do both at the same time, and he knew that what’s best had to come before what he wanted.

He stood up, but Nate pulled his hand. Preston looked down at him.

“Will you sit with me for a few minutes? Before you go to work?”

Preston smiled and sat down next to Nate.

“Of course, babe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've finally finished my first semester of college and that kicked my ass. The good news is that I've made some good friends and the bad news is that I need to make all A's to pull my GPA back up and keep my place in my honors program. But I'm pretty confident I'll be able to do that.   
> In other news, I'm trying to get back into reading and writing. Writing is a creative outlet for me and it's such a nice escape from problems I don't want to face.   
> ANYway, this is another short chapter due to a plotting mistake. However, I am looking forward to the next chapter >:)


	4. Mayor Hancock meets with General Nate to discuss Minuteman-GoodNeighbor Relations

The following day, Nate showed up to the morning workout. Preston was relieved to see him better or at least trying to act like he feels better. Either way, he knew he had no place bringing it up in front of their subordinates. He would have to wait until they were alone to question the true nature of Nate’s health. Preston wouldn’t disrespect him as to publicly question him. This wasn’t a matter of the Minutemen. This was a matter of his personal privacy.

Preston let Nate be for the day and went about his duties. He, per usual, patrolled the top of the Castle. Occasionally, he’d stop and answer a question some of the new recruits had. He enjoyed talking to them, especially the younger ones. The ones in their early twenties that were young when the Minutemen had a big presence in the Commonwealth. They had a different kind of hope than the older members. They didn’t have a once crushed hope that was slowly rekindling, the younger recruits had a fiery hope Preston had once known. It was the same hope he had when he joined at 17. 

Truly, he admired and respected the younger soldiers. They were the future of the Minutemen, of the Commonwealth. When he and Nate were gone, they would be the inspiration for the future Commonwealth children. They would lead the Commonwealth to a much better future than Nate and Preston could in their lifetime. 

But damn, some of them couldn’t aim for shit. He did, occasionally, help during target practice. However, he tried not to overshadow their actual instructor. And, he did have assigned duties to attend to. He wasn’t sure he could pull the “I’m your boyfriend” card to appease Nate if he missed a meeting to plan out new trade routes by telling a private to breathe when they squeezed the trigger. 

After lunch, Preston found Nate freshening up in their room. Nate was staring at himself in the mirror, his face was wet. It looked like he had splashed water on his face only a few moments before Preston stepped in. Nate turned when he noticed Preston in the reflection. He smiled, grinned really. Preston’s favorite thing about Nate was his smile. Nate had near-perfect teeth. Like the teeth in pre-war ads. They were a lot whiter when he first met him - though, Nate did make a point to clean his teeth often. 

“Hey, babe.”

Preston took a few steps forward and placed his hands on Nate’s hips. He noticed his eyes were bloodshot. Preston ran his thumb over Nate’s cheek.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I hit myself on accident,” Nate lied. Preston let it slide.

“Oh, be careful,” he nodded, “I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

Nate put his forehead against Preston’s and sighed.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The two shared a short, sweet kiss before Nate turned back around to finish freshening up. Preston took a few minutes to do the same.

“Are you going to sit in on my meeting with Mayor Hancock today?” he asked, glancing at Preston through the mirror.

“Would you like me to?”

He nodded.

“Then I will.”

From what Preston could tell, Nate didn’t like to go into meetings alone. The two reasons being it made him nervous to have the fate of the Minutemen entirely on his shoulders and he didn’t want others to think that Nate made all the decisions. He didn’t. Nate and Preston held weekly meetings with all the high up officials to make sure there was harmony. They didn’t want history to repeat itself. But Preston wasn’t concerned about a meeting with Mayor Hancock considering the nature of his and Nate’s friendship 

Nate shrugged his overcoat on. He looked at Preston, a lazy smile adorned. He crossed the room and left a few inches between them. He ran his hands up Preston’s chest, one stopped at his shoulder and the other on the back of his neck. Nate was slow with the kiss. He took his time tasting Preston’s mouth and holding him close. Together, they enjoyed the time they had in private. Preston was the first to pull away. For a fleeting moment, their lips were still. Touching and unmoving. Preston felt Nate’s warm breath against his mouth and neck. Nate stepped away.

“We should see if Hancock’s here,” Nate said.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Through some miracle, I have pulled myself together enough to produce one (1) chapter.


	5. General Nate Cancels Speech in the Northwest Commonwealth

A few days later, Nate and Preston held a meeting with the top ranking Minutemen officers. The main point of issue being on whether the Minutemen should expand into the northern reaches of the Commonwealth. The majority consensus agreed that it was unnecessary at the current time, due to a mostly empty area and that, in the future, it may be worth revisiting the issue. Especially, if more people were there.

“There isn’t much up there, even before the war, the area wasn’t filled with much,” Officer Johns said, “Isn’t that right, General?”

The group looked at Nate. He was staring ahead, it was clear to everyone he wasn’t all there.

“General,” Preston put his hand over Nate’s arm.

Nate looked up, “Huh? I’m sorry. No, there weren’t many people up there before the war.”

A beat. Nate got up urgently, the legs of his chair scraped loudly against the stone floor. He stumbled to the bin and threw up. Preston hurried to Nate’s side and rubbed his back. The rest of the group either looked away or averted their eyes. Nate wiped his mouth. His eyes watered, and when he blinked a few tears fell down his face. Preston wiped them away.

“Are you okay, General?” he said hushed.

Nate nodded, “Sour stomach.”

He got back up and took a few steps to his table. Just a few feet short of his chair, Nate fell to the floor. He started convulsing.

Preston was quick to kneel down beside him and clear everything out of his way.

“Someone go get Doctor Moore now!”

Officer Johns ran out of the room.

Preston turned Nate on his side and held him lightly.

“Nathan, I’ve got you,” Preston said softly, “You’re having a seizure. We’re getting a doctor for you. Everything is going to be alright.”

He took his hand off Nate.

After a few minutes, Nate stopped convulsing. His head hit the ground and he passed out. Preston struggled to maintain his calm persona. He took a deep breath and held Nate’s head off of the ground.

The door slammed open, Doctor Moore came in, bag in hand. She motioned for more space and nudged Preston away from Nate. He stepped away. Doctor Moore looked over Nate. She took his vitals and tried resuscitating him. 

Preston watched shell-shocked as Nate didn’t wake. His heart pounded, his eyes welled up with tears, his whole self tensed. Surely, it couldn’t be the end of the two of them. It couldn’t be the last moments of Nate’s life. He was so young. So damn young. He’d only been with Nate for a year. A short, long year.

His hands were sweaty, so sweaty. He wiped his hands off on his jacket.

His mind raced as he tried to remember every moment he shared alone with Nate. The first time Nate asked him to travel with him, in place of Hancock. Nate was so nervous asking him, but Preston had been so happy that he was finally getting some attention from him. The first time Nate put his life on the line for Preston, fighting ferals off while Preston pulled himself off the ground.

The first time Nate talked about being gay.

The two of them were camped out in an old gas station, Nate was cleaning his rifle while Preston charted out a route for the next day. He started the conversation quietly, nearly whispering out Preston’s name. Preston had turned, asked him if he said anything. Nate nodded and told him he wanted to talk to him about something. So, Preston sat down across from Nate. Nate didn’t look up for nearly the entire conversation.

“I need to tell you something about myself, not many people know - actually, only one person alive knows now, I guess,” he had said, “I-I- Hancock said it was generally more accepted now than it was during my time. And, um, if you don’t want to travel with me anymore because of it… I won’t take offense, I’ll just ask that you not spread this around.”

“Okay, whatever it is, I won’t judge you. I promise, General.”

“Nate,” Nate corrected, “This is off the books, just between us.”

“Okay, Nate.”

“I’m…” Nate sighed, “I am… attracted to men. I’ve never felt any sort of attraction to women.”

“Wait, I’m sorry, but I thought you were married.”

“I was,” he nodded, “She knew… She was also, uh, gay. We didn’t tell each other until way after we were married, after I came back from war. We had Shaun together so our parents would stop bugging us.”

Nate paused.

“We were best friends, Nora and I,” he continued. His voice sounded far away, he stared at his feet. “We grew up together, we did everything together. We actually started dating by accident, before I knew that I was… I took her to a fair for her 16th birthday. When I took her home, her dad pulled me aside and told me that I either had to stop leading her on or ask her out. So, I asked her to be my girlfriend even though I really didn’t think of her like that. A few years later, both her parents and my parents sat me down and told me I had to marry her before she went to college. They said she couldn’t go to school in the city unmarried. We married and before I could start college alongside her, I got shipped off to war.” 

Preston never did understand why he had to go through all of that, but he stopped asking questions after he realized it hurt Nate to talk about Nora. But, before then, Preston told him that he still wanted to travel with him. He had no problem with Nate being gay. In fact, Preston was gay, kinda. He had to explain the whole “bisexual” thing to Nate, and he caught on relatively easily. 

“He’s alive,” Doctor Moore said, “His vitals are steady - he’s breathing and he’s got a normal pulse. I need to take him to his room so I can take a better look at him.”

Preston stepped forward, offering his help. He lifted Nate off of the floor and led Doctor Moore down the hall from the meeting room to his and Nate’s room. It wasn’t apparent that anyone but Nate lived in the General’s quarters. He knew a few members had seen Preston entering and leaving the room at every hour of the day (though, he tended to only enter and exit in the morning and at night). Those soldiers were told to keep their mouths shut about what they had seen. Nate wasn’t ready at all to come out. One day, he promised, but this was all new to him. He’s never not had to sneak around and the thought of everyone knowing scared him.

He set Nate down in bed over the covers. Doctor Moore set her medical bag down on the side table and pulled a chair to the bedside. She looked at Preston.

“Close the door please. You can stay, I’d like to not be the only person in here if anything goes wrong.”

Preston closed the door and hung by the wall. He wrung his hands as Doctor Moore took a closer look at Nate.

“He’s got a bad case of radiation poisoning,” she turned to Preston, “It looks to have been developing over the past couple months. Have you noticed anything off about him recently? Vomiting? Paleness? Headaches?”

“Every few days he’s been throwing up…” Preston felt as if he hadn’t been paying close enough attention to Nate’s well-being, a pit grew in his stomach. “I thought… I thought it was just how he was reacting to the food or a new allergy… Y’know, since he’s not from here.”

She nodded, “The food on the surface is something hard to adjust to. At least, in my personal experience. I can’t imagine the culture shock the General has gone through.”

Nate’s eyes fluttered. He turned his head and tried sitting up. Doctor Moore put her hand on his chest and pushed him back. Preston sighed in relief. Nate was going to be okay.

“I need you to stay laying down, sir,” she said, “I’m going to ask you a few questions.”

“Okay,” he nodded.

“What is your name?”

“Nate.”

“Your full name, please.”

“Nathan Garvey.”

She nodded.

“How old are you?”

“24. Biologically.”

“Date of birth?”

“January 4th, 2055.”

“Do you know what today is?”

Nate paused, “June 14th, 2189.”

Doctor Moore nodded, “Very good. Now, I don’t have good news for you. You’ve contracted severe radiation poisoning. Fortunately, it can be reversed. I’ll need to set up an IV of Rad-X for you. You’ll be put on strict bed rest for at least two weeks.”

“That won’t do, I have a speech at the end of this week.”

“I’m sorry sir, that will have to be postponed. Until the radiation is flushed out of your body, you’re at risk for a repeat of today’s episode. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take with my patients.”

Nate sighed and nodded. He looked to Preston, “Lieutenant, will you pass along the message? My speech will be postponed, a reschedule date to be determined later.”

“Will do, General.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of my semester is online so you'll be hearing lot more from me in the coming months. I also just finished my first (long ass) play through of Breath of the Wild so I might be dropping something on that oops


End file.
